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Compare Prices on Carnival Triumph Mexican Riviera Cruises

Cruising on the Triumph

Sail Date:
March 2014

Destination:
Mexican Riviera

Embarkation:
Galveston

This is my review of the Carnival Triumph out of Galveston, TX, March 6-10th (Thurs-Mon). Embarkation was pretty smooth. We didn't arrive until after 12pm, so the total time it took to get onboard was maybe 45min. And because we boarded later, we avoided the massive lines, and our cabin (1050) was ready for us. The one (of very few) "complaints" I had was that our cabin was not cleaned well at all. Dust covered everything as though it hasn't been wiped down in quite a while. And there were dirt spots on the cabinets, and some food caked on the table. My friends and I did bring wipes and antibacterial wipes, so we did some wiping down and sanitizing. Problem solved! We also sanitized the toilet and shower floor so we were "free" to sit on the toilet and stand in the shower without worry of some strangers’ icky germs There were 3 of us (all girls) in our balcony cabin, and there was a murphy-like bed that came down from the ceiling above the couch. Not the most comfortable, and More
pretty scary when climbing down in the dark for a bathroom trip, but we rotated nights, so it all worked out! The room was not set up for us (sleeping arrangements) when we arrived, but it was all ready for us when we returned from dinner that night. The next day was a sea day. My biggest pet peeve while cruising are the people who get up at the butt-crack of dawn to claim their lounge chair on the Lido deck by draping a towel over it. So, by the time we got out there (around 10 am.. after our workout in the gym which was awesome!), every single chair was “reserved”. So, I spotted 3 chairs with towels draped on them, and then we went to grab a quick bite to eat. Came back out about 30min later (chairs still vacant) and asked the people sitting next to those chairs how long they have been vacant. They told me that they have been out there since 8am and have not seen the people at all. So, I went and asked a Carnival employee about their policy (which I already knew, but, still..) and was told that reserving chairs are not permit able, and if left vacant for more than 30min. we are free to remove their stuff and occupy the chairs ourselves. So, we did! (I had to do that in ’10 on the Valor as well) TWO hours later, the women who “reserved” the chairs appeared. And they were pissed! One the women demanded that we get up because “it was their chairs”. I politely informed her of Carnival’s policy, and directed her to the employee who gave us permission to remove her stuff if she didn’t want to take my word for it. She then preceded to curse at me. Mind you, we were seated right next to the huge chess board area which was filled with CHILDREN. I don’t know why I thought for a moment she would care about that since she obviously had no problem screaming and cursing at a stranger in public. My response after reminding her a few times that children were present and it’s not appropriate to say those things (it is people like that which has made me NOT bring my children on a cruise thus far), she demanded her friend sit in the one remaining chairs that happened to become available, while she “takes care of it”. After being gone for 30min (we were watching her scream at that poor employee just doing her job), she came back, cursed at me some more, and then left. Didn’t ruin our AWESOME day lounging, soaking up some rays and drinking our delicious fruity, alcoholic beverages! We watched the hairy-chest contest which was hilarious!! I must have sat out there for 5 hours! It is my most favorite thing to do while cruising!

We ate dinner every night in the London MDR. We were fortunate enough to be sat with another group of 3 girlfriends. I do like that there are SO many food choices on the ship. I am a pretty healthy eater, so it was nice to have options. So many people say that it’s not possible to eat healthy on the ship. And I will say that is NOT true at all! It was that night we discovered the GEM on the Triumph! The ALCHEMY BAR!! BEST.MARTINI’S.EVER. And the best waitress ever! Her name is Alexandra and she is from Romania. So sweet and beautiful! My Mom is also from Romania, and it’s not often I meet someone from there. It was amazing how well she handled all the drunken morons! She ROCKS! Anyhow.. Do NOT forget to check out the Alchemy Bar! The next day was Cozumel, where I booked an all-inclusive beach day at Mr. Sancho’s. The cab ride was $16 each way. LOVED IT!!! I must warn you that towels are NOT provided, so don’t forget like we did to bring one from the ship! We ended up having buy them there, which wasn’t cheap. Oh well. And umbrella rentals are not included, so we did rent those. My friends ate coconut shrimp which they really enjoyed, and I had some chicken soft tacos which were pretty good. However, their salsa and Guac.. wasn’t impressed. However, we must have drank 8 or 9 mango daiquiri’s.. OMG, YUMMM!!! And the beach and turquoise water was GORGEOUS!! I am born/raised in Miami, but now live in Texas. So when you live your whole life with the beautiful Atlantic Ocean as your backyard, and now just have the murky waters of Galveston, you have a whole new appreciation for gorgeous water and sand! This is NOT a Carnival excursion.. I don’t ever book cruise ship excursions personally. I HIGHLY recommend Mr. Sancho’s!

After hearing from SO many people rave about how good Guy’s Burgers was, I decided to at least try it. What can I say.. I was curious! It was just as delicious as I had heard! Truly a treat for the taste buds! And truly, the tastiest fries EVER! I just got the plain patty w/cheese on a bun, topped w/ ketchup. But, after I was about halfway through, I started to feel like a truck ran over me! Although SUPER tasty, my body could not handle that amount of grease and fat. Other than maybe eating a few fries off a friend’s plate, I will have to pass on Guy’s for now on. Now.. Blue Iguana Burritos.. YUUUMMMM!!! They have wheat tortillas!! I wish they had a brown cilantro-rice option though, but since they don’t, I went light on the rice, added some chicken, and loaded up on black beans and pico.. It was SO GOOD!! And a MUCH healthier option for others reading who are also live a healthy lifestyle. It was filling and didn’t make you feel like you were in a coma afterwards! They also offer breakfast burritos as well. Also, a big YUM!

The last sea day, I got out to the pool area early enough to where there were seats available. Unfortunately, the weather was starting to get chilly, and it basically rained all day. We saw our first show that night.. The New Orleans-type show. It was decent. But we did leave halfway through and went to the Alchemy Bar instead. I have always found their shows to be a bit hokey.. But that is just my personal opinion. We also did watch the Newlywed Game, and that is ALWAYS a blast! We enjoyed many good laughs. Thank you to those couples who provide us such awesome comical relief!

Due to heavy fog, we didn’t get to port until after 11am. We did not purchase FTTF, so didn’t get off the ship until approx. 1:30pm. And that was because people insisted on trying to sneak off the ship instead of waiting until your number is called to come down and debark. So those people held everyone else up. The lines were VERY long to go through customs. And since 2 of us did not travel with passports, it was even longer. Oh well. We didn’t get huffy about it. After all.. it is what it is! No point in getting upset when things don’t go as planned.

Overall, we had a FANTASTIC cruise on The Triumph!! The cruise director Jen Baxter, and asst. cruise director Gumby were FABULOUS!! I can’t wait to do it again! Less

Compare Prices on Carnival Triumph Mexican Riviera Cruises

Cabin review: Carnival Triumph Balcony Panorama 1050

Our cabin (1050) was ready for us when we got onboard at 1pm. The one (of very few) "complaints" I had was that our cabin was not cleaned well at all. Dust covered everything as though it hasn't been wiped down in quite a while. And there were dirt spots on the cabinets, and some food caked on the table. My friends and I did bring wipes and antibacterial wipes, so we did some wiping down and sanitizing. Problem solved! We also sanitized the toilet and shower floor so we were "free" to sit on the toilet and stand in the shower without worry of some strangers’ icky germs There were 3 of us (all girls) in our balcony cabin, and there was a murphy-like bed that came down from the ceiling above the couch. Not the most comfortable, and pretty scary when climbing down in the dark for a bathroom trip, but we rotated nights, so it all worked out! The room was not set up for us (sleeping arrangements) when we arrived, but it was all ready for us when we returned from dinner that night. The wonderful lady taking care of our cabin was VERY friendly and accommodating. Always addressing us by name.

Port and Shore Excursions

Beach Break

In Cozumel, I booked an all-inclusive beach day at Mr. Sancho’s. The cab ride was $16 each way. LOVED IT!!! I must warn you that towels are NOT provided, so don’t forget like we did to bring one from the ship! We ended up having buy them there, which wasn’t cheap. Oh well. And umbrella rentals are not included, so we did rent those. My friends ate coconut shrimp which they really enjoyed, and I had some chicken soft tacos which were pretty good. However, their salsa and Guac.. wasn’t impressed. However, we must have drank 8 or 9 mango daiquiri’s.. OMG, YUMMM!!! And the beach and turquoise water was GORGEOUS!! I am born/raised in Miami, but now live in Texas. So when you live your whole life with the beautiful Atlantic Ocean as your backyard, and now just have the murky waters of Galveston, you have a whole new appreciation for gorgeous water and sand! This is NOT a Carnival excursion.. I don’t ever book cruise ship excursions personally. I HIGHLY recommend Mr. Sancho’s!